Today I met Jesus for lunch. I had no plans and was thinking of what to do when I heard him suggest it to my heart. I gladly went to one of my favorite nearby eateries and sat down, imagining Him seated across from me. I sat quietly and prayed silently, “Here I am. I’m just going to be quiet so you can talk today.” I could almost see him smile at me. I smiled to myself and waited some more. He just kept smiling. I felt such peace and contentment. I thought about lunch yesterday, how I had met two girlfriends and how much fun it was to visit with them. We didn’t need to talk about church stuff or conflict or issues, we just wanted to be together and it was wonderful. As I thought about that, I heard Jesus say, “That’s how I feel. I’m just glad you wanted to be with me. I have no agenda today. I just want to spend time with you.” The love in His words overwhelmed me. What freedom! “You mean sometimes we can just be – I don’t need to pray anything. I can just sit here and enjoy You being here?” Jesus smiled again. Thinking about it now still moves me. How many times do I come to Him with a long list of prayer requests or guilt over the fact that I haven’t actually said the names of everyone on my list out loud so he can answer my prayers? How often do I feel He has a big agenda for our times together, that it’s always going to be a time to discipline me or train me?
Could it really be okay to just sit in his arms or across a table from Him and let Him love me? Continue reading
Time away with my sister and her family, in sunny Arizona, was like the wonderful rush of “ahhhh” after a strenuous workout, when the endorphins kick in.
There was much conversation and diet coke (of course!), much laughter, watching movies, sitting in the sun, walking through beautifully manicured, landscaped southwestern neighborhoods with cactus and brilliant fuchsia bougainvillea vines growing everywhere, shopping at 
Ikea for the first time, tutoring my sis on facebook, driving around town in the little pick-up truck with my nephew Curtis, playing with their two sweet doggies, singing at the piano and visiting with my older nephew TJ, playing guitar hero, holding the snake, Vinnie (!) and just plain ol’ heart-warming love.
I sat down at the piano to play a little the afternoon he was home with us and he came into the room. He started singing a praise song I was playing, so I sang, too. 
In a way all of the people in my life are like a bunch of paper ships being set out on a creek. They float downstream together but then at times one or two may veer off and fall behind or even take a different course altogether. It’s just the way it is. Life is like a creek in that way. People come into our lives but they usually don’t stay there forever. Sometimes they “fall behind” as I keep floating along or the other way around and I’m watching them sail away from me into another future than mine. So…is it really worth investing in people and relationships when you know they’ll probably have to go sometime?
Along the Narrow Path 